DARIEN 2002 News


Kitty Benedict	• Dear Ry, Very good of you to keep us attached. The memories of the Reunion are still very vivid to me and I am still thunderstruck at how wonderful it felt to be with all our classmates - so agreeable, interesting and heartwarming. And thanks to you and Sandy for the idea and most of the execution. How I envy the correspondents who seem to be gathering in or around Jupiter, Fla. This winter, currently, is proving very hard to handle up here in NW CT, and today the furnace conked out - and why not? I'd feel like conking out too if I had to keep running all the time. Actually, we are still pretty good, I have learned to play paddle tennis which I have come to like, even though my favorite is still tennis. Summers in Litchfield county, however, are fabulous with music, theater, ballet and tennis (and a bit of golf). And how do we spend our time? Kind of a mystery, but the time evaporates somehow with little to show for it. Have nothing astonishing to report. Talk to Emmy Champion Knobloch and hear from Anne B. Kimball a bit, and miss Wibby terribly. Still love the opera and see the HD telecasts of the Met at a theater nearby. Am still also doing a bit of editing of mss. some local authors have written. On February 19th, my husband, Fox Jones, landed on Iwo Jima as a Marine demolitions specialist, at age 20. It seems our lives have included more wars than I would have liked. How much agony and waste... (I mention this only because Jack Keese was so lovely when I learned that he had been a Marine and I mentioned Fox. "Once a Marine, always a Marine." Be well, everybody, and come see us if your travels take you to this part of CT. Very best, Kitty
Emily Champion Knobloch	• Dear Ry, Thank you for keeping alive Sandy's efforts to keep us connected with the Darien friends. I'm so glad you did, as I often think about the fact that Sandy got us all together when he knew that it was the last gathering for him. What a guy! I have no particular news, though we are both hanging in there! Carl had a small stroke over Christmas, but is recovering very well and should be back to par before too long. We still spend half the year in Wyoming and half in Atlanta, where our address is Arden, not Arrow Road, if it makes any difference. I am playing bridge with a vengeance, probably an outgrowth of teen-age games with Sandy and T.K., but I don't think we knew many rules then! I take tennis lessons in the summer with a pro who hits the ball right to me which suits me perfectly. Other than that, I love to read and also to follow the wild men in Washington in the newspapers. What a circus we have been seeing. Would love to hear what is going on in everyone's lives, as it is a long time since we have had an update. I still think about Sandy, Wibby, Jerry Nielsen and Nancy Betts. Saw Scottie Miller and Elinor in Jackson last summer and both were in great shape. Al Palmer comes out for the fishing in the fall, but we have not seen him in several years. Hope everyone is well--Best Emmy Knobloch
	Emmy, I’m sorry to hear about Carl and hope his return to good health is soon. We have many friends who have had strokes or other events and are now back on the courts. I’ve always thought that the rules for over 75 tennis should be that if you don’t hit the ball at your opponent, you lose the point! What's this about "Restaurante' Giovanni's"? Sounds like a must-go when in Jackson Hole. Ry
Elaine Deran Kilbourn	• Hi Ry, It was so good to hear from you. All is well here. I continue to work in the Darien Town Hall for the Social Service and Health Dept. as Office Administrator, and am enjoying my work. I am pleased to announce that I was selected by the Selectmen as employee of the year, here in Darien, this past October. Joe and I live in New Canaan making the drive to his law practice in Mt Kisco an easy one. We get together with Al and Patty Palmer on occasion and that is always fun. I am in contact with Charlotte and she is doing well. Our son and daughter-in-law just had their third child, a boy, James Austin Kilbourn. James is our first 12th generation grandson in the direct line of Kilbourns. We now have 7 grandchildren. The oldest, Austin, was in the ROTC in college and graduated as a 2nd Lt and is with the National Guard in Texas. He has a number of men under him who were shipped to Iraq in January. He will be going over in June after spending time at Fort Benning in Georgia starting the end of this month. He is very “gung ho” about the whole idea! All the best, Elaine
Scotty Miller	• TapTapCar? Is this a car you have designed? It'd look better in our Jackson Hole garage than my '95 Tahoe. But, maybe not as practical for carting groceries, skis and visiting family and friends. Skiing has been "perfect New England" conditions: firm with a dusting of powder and patches of ice, but not blue ice. Of course, we expect every day here to be 18-30" inches of new fluffy powder, which occasionally does happen, though not for a week or so. One loses track of the days here. The altitude? Or A-MWOL...absent-minded without leave. Elinor's seen Emily at bridge. Have heard Carl is doing well. Hope all is well with you. SCOTTY • It is the altitude. Re: Emily at Bridge ... last summer, of course. The Knobloch's are probably in Atlanta, though Carl has opened a restaurant -- Giovanni's --in Jackson. We have yet to go, but hear it's fine. Daughter, Dr. Emmy K, is head waiter (I think) as well as head of the hospital staff and our Dr. We better go get checked out... in between some downhill action on the slopes. SCOTTY
Michael Shays	• Thank you Ry. Our news is that we have moved to Normandy Park WA as of April. Sold our Hillsborough home of 30 years in 21 days without a clue where we were going to move and ended up here outside of Seattle. Still working , coaching people who want to enter management consulting or those whose consulting business flat-lined last year. See www.emichaelshays.com <http://www.emichaelshays.com/> still under construction. Michael
Jack Keese	• Ry, great to hear from you and thanks for your efforts to keep this aging group of "Darienites" in contact with each other. Carol and I are in Fla. for the winter and don't miss whats going on in the northeast. Long Island is too cold for these 76 year old bones. Playing lots of tennis in 2 senior leagues here and manage to struggle out to the golf course at least once a week. No talent there. I mentioned to Woody the other day the racquet seems a lot heavier and the court a lot larger than it used to be. The USTA forgot to send me the memo that they had increased the court dimentions for 2010. Classmates seem to end up in Fla. We have been here for 12 winters has have the Corbetts and the Palmers all within 20 minutes of each other. Jan and Prill Meyer are arriving here in Jupiter the 2nd week in March so we have a "mini" reunion planned with all of us then. Grandchildren continue to grow. Our 14 year old grandson has no Keese genes since he is 6 feet and growing. We Keese's are all shrimps. Grand daughter is 12 and the whole family lives here in Jupiter all year. Nice to be able to spend such key time with them. So far all is well here. Will be here until middle of May and then return to Cold Spring Harbor when the grass is green and the buds are popping. Our best to all, Jack & Carol.
	Jack, It sounds like you have a great life with 2 wonderful locations for homes. We’ve stuck with one home all these years but it really never gets that cold here in Northern California so no real need to have 2 homes. Spring is already tip toeing in with blooming Acacia trees, pear trees, all the bulbs – tulips, narcissus, daffodils – and of course fields of mustard and green grass. We judge the weather by how often we can eat lunch outside. I’d guess around 10 – 15 times during February. This is our rainy season so we’re inside on those days. So our weather is pretty good but I’m sure it doesn’t match your warm, humid days in Florida. I remember fondly spending several spring breaks from college in Ft. Lauderdale and Cuba. Did I ever tell you about visiting the Cuban dictator’s son? It must be nice to have grandchildren in the same town. Our grandkids are around 1/2 hour away in Burlingame. We see them regularly, but we’re just far enough away so we’re not called upon to babysit! I’m also a regular tennis player, but twice a week is about all I can handle. All the best, Ry Here's a photo of our back yard from my studio several weeks ago. Notice the rain on the table...
Ry Smith	• Here's a quick way to catch up with our family - click to take a look at our 2009 CHRISTMAS LETTER. We did enjoy our last trip to Europe, but sad to admit, we're going to be cutting down on our traveling in the future. I guess it's another sign that age is catching up with us! For those of you who are gardeners, you might enjoy seeing Suzy's garden. Click here to check it out. In addition to gardening, Suzy continuous to perform at several piano groups and book clubs along with playing tennis twice a week. I finally gave up basketball but I've substituted with regular (doubles) tennis plus daily workouts. (in spite of all this physical stuff, I'm now where near looking as young as Scotty!). You've probably gathered I have a new App project, TapTapCars. I also continue with these websites: Kabubble (joint crafts site with Suzy), Pingxit (find and rate the best websites), and rysmith.com - my art site. Some things never change - Suzy and I continue with our regular Tuesday Lunch Date. We're both very busy and very lucky to have our health. Our best to everyone. Ry & Suzy